Movie: The Hangover Part III (2013)

Rating: D

The biggest problem I had with Part II in what's now the Wolfpack Trilogy was that it was a lazy derivative of the first installment. So I was pleasantly surprised when the movie unfolded and was apparent that this last installment would not be yet another derivative of that first flick.



That being said.... I really don't believe Todd Phillips pulled it off. It was supposed to be an epic finale. I suppose that that was the direction it was headed towards, but it never seemed to actually get there. And that's really the best way of describing this movie. It's neither here nor there. It's not funny enough to be a comedy and it's entirely not epic enough to even be in the vicinity of being epic.

And I know that this last bit is also neither here nor there, but I entirely didn't see enough of Jamie Chung. Haha.

Cheers.

Movie: The Hangover Part II (2011)

Rating: C


Talking with some friends after watching the movie, I dropped the score for The Hangover Part II from a B-, down to a C. While it was mildly entertaining, and it certainly had its moments of hilarity, from what they told me of the first one, this sequel is simply a lazy derivative of the first movie. If I were in to that, I'd probably go read myself a few more John Grisham novels (or watch the movies).



I just don't get Zach Galifianakis. I don't understand why anyone thinks he's funny and I don't understand why he's famous. It's like watching Jar Jar Binks but with different names. Yes, I do find him THAT annoying. Thankfully, this movie has Jamie Chung (she can be my ChiChi anyday...HAHAHA). There really wasn't a reason to bring her up, she's just cute enough to deserve a nod. =)~

The first rendition of The Hangover (2009) was original and innovative in concept; turning an alcohol imbibing, drug inducing hangover that forces the members of "The Wolfpack" to re-trace their steps to figure out what happened. But to follow the same formula all over again, that's just lazy. And even though I haven't watched the first one, The Hangover Part II was only mildly entertaining.

Set in Bangkok, The Hangover Part II seems more of a comedy noire than a comedy. While it has its moments, I found most of the jokes to be low brow, slapstick humour that simply plays on the stereotypes of Thailand. And while some of the footage was quite beautiful, it's pretty hard to mess up the naturally beautiful scenes of the country.

But how do you not watch a movie that features a smoking monkey?

~Cheers.